by Janet Mushi | 10 July 2019 08:46 pm07
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”
— Ephesians 1:3 (ESV)
May the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be glorified forever. I trust that the grace of God has sustained you and brought you safely into this day. Just as I have received that grace, I pray that together we may grow in it—especially through the study of His Word.
In today’s world—especially in the context of contemporary African Christianity—many people have come to believe that accepting Jesus Christ will automatically lead to material wealth. After all, we are told that Abraham was blessed, Isaac was blessed, Jacob was blessed, David and Solomon were greatly blessed—so the reasoning follows: “If I am a true child of Abraham by faith, I too should walk in financial prosperity.”
This idea has been at the heart of what is often called the “Prosperity Gospel” or the “Health and Wealth Gospel.” It teaches that financial blessing and physical well-being are always God’s will for believers, and that faith, positive confession, and generous giving will lead to riches and success.
However, this is a distortion of the full counsel of Scripture.
Many people are drawn to Christianity because of the hope of wealth. But when time passes and financial breakthroughs don’t come—despite constant prayers, fasting, deliverance services, and prophetic words—disappointment sets in. Some fall away from the faith altogether. Others begin to complain, murmuring against God:
“Why haven’t you answered my prayers?”
“Why are others prospering while I struggle?”
“Maybe someone stole my destiny or cursed me.”
This often leads to spiritual paranoia: blaming trees, ancestral names, birth times, or generational curses for financial hardship. People spend years attending deliverance services, giving “redemption offerings,” and applying anointing oil to their businesses—yet still live in defeat and confusion.
Why? Because they entered Christianity with a wrong understanding of what it is.
In the Old Covenant, God’s promises to Israel were indeed material and earthly. For instance, God promised Abraham land, descendants, and material blessings (Genesis 12:1–3). Deuteronomy 28 outlines blessings of wealth, health, and victory for Israel if they obeyed God’s Law.
However, those blessings were tied to a theocratic nation under a specific covenant. The physical blessings were part of God’s redemptive plan to preserve the lineage through which the Messiah would come.
In the New Covenant, our blessings are primarily spiritual and eternal:
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
— Philippians 3:20 (ESV)
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…”
— Matthew 6:19–20 (ESV)
The inheritance promised to believers is eternal life, spiritual adoption, forgiveness of sins, and union with Christ (Romans 8:16–17; 1 Peter 1:3–4). Nowhere does the New Testament guarantee wealth as a sign of God’s favor.
Paul writes:
“But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.”
— 1 Timothy 6:8 (ESV)
He had learned the secret of contentment in all circumstances:
“I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance… I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
— Philippians 4:11–13 (ESV)
This doesn’t mean that wealth is sinful, nor that poverty is holier. Rather, wealth or poverty is not an indicator of spiritual standing before God. Whether rich or poor, the true Christian is called to be faithful and content.
Jesus praised the church in Smyrna:
“I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)…”
— Revelation 2:9 (ESV)
Though materially poor, this church was spiritually wealthy.
Contrast that with Laodicea:
“For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,’ not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”
— Revelation 3:17 (ESV)
Their material wealth blinded them to their spiritual bankruptcy.
“How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”
— Mark 10:23 (ESV)
Jesus emphasized that riches can be a spiritual hindrance, not because money is evil, but because the love of money competes with our love for God:
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.”
— 1 Timothy 6:10 (ESV)
We cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24).
True prosperity is not found in bank accounts, cars, or houses—it is found in knowing Christ:
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
— Philippians 3:8 (ESV)
God may choose to bless some materially, as He did with Joseph, Job, or Lydia—but that is not a promise to all believers. Instead, every believer is promised God’s presence, peace, purpose, and eternal inheritance.
Whether you have much or little, the Bible calls us to contentment and faithfulness:
“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”
— Hebrews 13:5 (ESV)
Let our declaration be:
“Whether the Lord gives much or little, I am satisfied—because He is enough!”
Christianity is not a transaction to gain wealth—it is a relationship with the living God, through Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and rose again. He calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him (Luke 9:23)—not to chase after earthly treasures.
Let us therefore pursue Christ—not for what He can give us, but for who He is. Let us treasure Him above all, and store up riches where it truly matters: in heaven.
Be richly blessed as you seek the Kingdom first and trust in the sufficiency of Christ.
Source URL: https://wingulamashahidi.org/en/2019/07/10/does-christ-guarantee-wealth-to-every-believer/
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